Beyond Maintenance: How Aging School Buildings Can Affect Safety and Operations

A burst pipe at Haverhill High School in Massachusetts on Oct. 7 prompted a two-hour delay and the temporary relocation of students to another school.

Buses en route to the high school were redirected to nearby Consentino Middle School, while students arriving by car were instructed to report there as well.

At Consentino, high school students were accommodated in the library, gymnasium, and cafeteria. According to a Consentino staff member, high school administrators and security personnel accompanied the students, while available middle school staff helped supervise them.

The middle school's regular schedule continued with minor adjustments, including serving breakfast in classrooms rather than the cafeteria. Staff also considered how classroom space could be rearranged if the high school students needed to remain longer.

Once buses completed their elementary school drop-offs, they returned to Consentino to transport the students back to Haverhill High School. The students were on their way back by approximately 9 a.m.

While the district's response helped minimize disruption to the school day, the incident demonstrates how a building failure can require coordination across transportation, staffing, student supervision, and operations at multiple schools.

Aging School Buildings Face Additional Weather-Related Risks

The October incident was not the first time Haverhill High School, which opened in 1962, has experienced building-related problems.

In 2010, the Massachusetts School Building Authority reported that the district had replaced the school's HVAC system, including boilers, piping, pumps, and ventilators, as part of a larger renovation project.

More recently, roofing and plumbing problems have required attention. In 2020, WHAV reported that a leaking roof over the school's swimming pool needed replacement. In January 2022, a burst pipe caused classroom floor tiles to buckle.

Facilities improvements have also been underway elsewhere in the district. In 2023, WHAV reported that the Haverhill School Committee approved HVAC upgrades at several elementary schools, using federal and state funding to replace aging equipment and improve system reliability.

The need to maintain and upgrade aging school facilities extends well beyond Haverhill. A 2020 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that an estimated 54% of public school districts needed to update or replace multiple building systems or features in at least half of their schools. Commonly identified needs included HVAC systems, roofing, and plumbing.

Existing facilities deficiencies can become particularly concerning during severe weather, when heavy precipitation, flooding, or extreme temperatures may put additional strain on school buildings.

Previous EdSource reporting examined how California schools were preparing for El Niño-related storms, finding that dozens of districts seeking voter approval for school bonds had identified deteriorating roofs and other facilities problems. The report also raised concerns about school closures, transportation disruptions, and the availability of alternate locations for displaced students.

Those concerns remain relevant as another El Niño develops ahead of winter 2026–27. In an Oct. 8 update, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that El Niño continues to strengthen, with a greater than 83% chance of strong-to-very strong conditions persisting through January–March 2027.

Separately, NOAA's seasonal precipitation outlook favors wetter-than-normal conditions across portions of the southern and central United States, with the wetter pattern extending northward along the Atlantic coast into New England.

Although El Niño does not guarantee severe weather in any particular location, periods of heavy precipitation, flooding, and temperature extremes can expose existing building vulnerabilities. For districts already dealing with deteriorating roofs, aging plumbing, drainage problems, or unreliable heating systems, those conditions can increase the risk of disruptions.

School Facilities Planning Is School Safety Planning

Preparing for weather-related building emergencies requires coordination among facilities personnel, school safety leaders, transportation departments, and district administrators. A roof leak, burst pipe, or heating failure may begin as a maintenance issue, but it can quickly affect student safety and school operations.

Facilities condition assessments can help districts identify aging roofs, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems that may be vulnerable to failure. As a previous School Security Leadership article on integrating security into facilities planning emphasized, school safety considerations should be incorporated into facilities assessments, capital improvements, and long-term planning.

The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), a nonprofit partner of the National Council of School Safety Directors (NCSSD), also addresses weather preparedness in its Safety and Security Guidelines for K–12 Schools. The guidelines recommend monitoring local NOAA weather information, preparing for weather emergencies relevant to the district, and conducting recurring all-hazards exercises with community partners.

PASS also offers free digital school safety and security checklists that districts can use to assess individual campuses, identify security gaps, track improvements, and generate reports. While the checklists do not replace facilities condition assessments, they can support the safety and security planning that should accompany building maintenance and capital improvement decisions.

Preparing for Building-Related Disruptions

Even with preventive maintenance and long-term capital planning, unexpected building failures can occur. Preparing for those situations means looking beyond the physical condition of a building to consider how a disruption would affect students, staff, and daily school operations.

Questions districts should consider include:

• Which schools have known roofing, plumbing, drainage, heating, or electrical deficiencies that could affect operations during severe weather?
• If a building or part of a campus becomes unusable, where could students and staff be relocated?
• Can alternate locations safely accommodate additional students, including those with accessibility or specialized support needs?
• How would transportation schedules, staffing, and student supervision be adjusted?
• How would families, employees, and emergency responders receive updates?
• Have relocation and continuity plans been reviewed or exercised with the departments responsible for carrying them out?

These considerations extend beyond school safety departments. Facilities, transportation, food services, technology, communications, and school administrators all have roles in preparing for and responding to disruptions.

The Haverhill incident offers an example of how coordination across a district can help limit the disruption caused by an unexpected building problem. While the pipe failure temporarily displaced students, staff at both schools worked alongside transportation and security personnel to accommodate them and get the school day back on track.

Ultimately, students come to school to learn. Keeping them safe is essential, but so is maintaining an environment where teaching and learning can continue. That responsibility extends across every department in a school district.